Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Scenes from Camp

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, I'm about to deliver the Upanishads. Sorry. It was that kind of weekend.

Objects of Inspiration

A bewildering conglomeration of knitted pieces (many from the needles of Meg and Elizabeth) filled one long wall of the classroom. I spent a lot of time rummaging around and turned up several pieces I'd seen before in photographs or on video. It was like running into old friends.

This is perhaps a fifth of what was on display. And according Amy Detjen, there was more piled up under the tables that I never got to.

For Jean Miles: Elizabeth's original rib warmer.

A watch cap, "art socks," and yet more sweaters.

Elizabeth's famous Aspen Sweater. I tried it on.

One of several Baby Surprise Jackets.

Role Models

The teaching staff was nonpareil. We had the pleasure of learning from:

Joyce Williams, a gigantic amount of knitting know-how ensconced in a quite tiny person. The sweater she's holding is an example of Armenian Knitting, one of the techniques we covered. Joyce will be forever in my heart as the woman to whom I lost my steek virginity. She sat next to me and coaxed me through the whole process from crocheting to cutting.

Amy Detjen, who in spite of her breathtaking command of yarn and needles remains gratifyingly down-to-earth. I confess to having been very shy around her, which meant I didn't talk to her as much as I would have liked. I was in awe.

And of course, Meg. You remember Pa Ingalls describing Ma Ingalls in the Little House on the Prairie books as "Wise as a serpent, gentle as a dove"? That's Meg. Except she's also funny as hell.

My longstanding schoolboy crush on Judi Dench has now been transferred to Meg. Judi, you're a fantastic actress and we'll always have Paris, but Meg knits.

My Fellow Campers

Knitters, they're good people. This group took knitting seriously, but not themselves. This became evident during one lesson when the whole crowd spontaneously burst forth in song:

Knitting Camp is one week long,Doo-dah, doo-dah.Knitting Camp is one week long,Oh, doo-dah-day.Going to knit all night,Going to knit all day.Spent all our money on the lace-weight yarn,Oh, doo-dah day.

And then the lesson resumed as though nothing had happened.

We sat at long tables and I had the pleasure of sitting across from:

Charlotte and Luz, who were both very nice to the New Boy. They didn't try to short-sheet my bunk or anything.

At each day's show-and-tell session, what might have been an exercise in vanity was instead a parade of top-flight workmanship.

A small sampling:

My girl Martha not merely showing her splendid stuff, but holding the swatch she made to get the fine details just right.

My bud Carol Shirley absolutely working the floor. Sashay, chantay.

Carol Shirley and Maureen in matching Fair Isles.

And the charming Pat, who apparently doesn't find modern life challenging enough as it is, displaying her method of knitting socks on two circulars. Four at a time.

There was lace all over the damn place. It was common as stockinette.

Fellow Chicagolander Cathy.

Nancy, in a cuddly summer shawl and one of my Worldwide Knit in Public Day shirts.

Maureen, who let me hang around her even though I kept drooling all over her work.

Shawn and her awe-inspiring wedding shawl. Is that a symbol of committment or what?

Lace-in-progress. Maureen helps Kate block her elegant Violets By the River shawl, done in Koigu.

I was so impressed by all the lace that I asked the lace knitters to sit for a group portrait, and they graciously agreed.

A beautiful group of women if I ever saw one.

You Knit What?

Of course, not everything the knitters showed was Serious Work.

The ladies who took me into their little group had quite surprise for us, in progress since the end of last year's session. May I present: Meg Swansen's Knitted Camp.

Here's the full site set up on Meg's table. The banner is double knitting. The tent has a steeked front opening, and inside is a two-color sleeping bag (also steeked) that's also a swatch for Meg's Baby Russian Prime sweater.

Ready for a closer look? Hang on tight.

They knit the campfire. And the marshmallows.

I'm not sure which of Barbie's friends this is, but I seem to recall that what she's knitting is the start of an Aran cable.

Another camper, wearing one sock while knitting its mate. Note the (wool) daiquiri and tin of needles in handy proximity.

70 comments:

Although I cringed a bit at the knitted Camp, mostly because I would have knitted rude garments for the dolls, it's kind of sweet.

I am so glad you got so much from it. Now. Let's see some of your knitting, eh? It's been much too long since I've seen anything that you've been working on. So come on now, make yo' adopted mama happy.

Sounds like everyone had a great time. The knitted camp is awesome, and so many of the other projects stretched my mind further than previously imagined. Lace of any kind impresses me, but the wedding shawl? HOLY.

Wonderful post, great description of camp, I went 2 years ago and was starstruck by Meg, I got to stand next to her for the group photo. I loved Amy, she was so funny, Joyce was incredibly sweet and she helped me with my first steek as well, hopefully one day I'll get to go back and finish my baby russian prime.

Oh, I am still SO jealous. I noticed that Meg still favors the video camera close-up thing. That amazed me when I took a class from her at Stitches West the last time she came out for it (several years back). Particularly in contrast with Lily Chin's giant needles & rope trick.

LOVE the knitted camp! I just about fell out of my chair when I saw the close-up of the campfire.

What an awesome time you must have had! And I see that Dolores did make an appearance after all the night-time partying she partook. Now, one question bugs me... How do you know if Judi Denche does not knit??=:8

Don't know about Dame Judi knitting, but she certainly makes needlepoint cushion covers (and buys her tapestry wool from the same shop as my mum). She's famous for embroidering swear-words into them in such a way that they are virtually invisible. It comes up in every interview, but non-embroidering journalists never go into detail, so my mum and I have spent years trying to work out a method. Our current favourite is keeping the bulk of the work in tent stitch but marking out the ouline of a word and working that in half cross stitch.

Thank you, Franklin, for your generosity in sharing Knit Camp with us. My only regret is that reservations to Knit Camp will now be impossible to secure.

Surpurb photography, witty words, delightful sketches, gentle humor... You have created a blog, to use your word, nonpareil. I came long ago to observe your knitting progress but have been captivated as your talent continues to emerge. Bravo!

That is a great photo of me with my mouth gaping open... just how I always think of myself! If you own Photoshop, could you shave 40 lbs off for me?

I hate to tell you, but you're doing a disservice to yourself! You are letting untold MASSES know of the wonders of Meg's camp, and next year the waiting list will be even longer! You should be tight-lipped and secretive to keep the numbers down. I'm kind of kidding, and kind of serious!

Oh, and for the record, the sweater that Luz is wearing was knitted by the infamous Joyce Williams and is in yer book Latvian Dreams. Luz is a great knitter, yes, but that masterpiece is a one-of-a-kind to be sure! (We let people sample the wares at camp, and it's odd to look up and see someone strolling around in a vest knitted by EZ herself.)

I'm leaving for Oft-Timers now, the 4th and final session of the summer. Thanks to Franklin for all the wonderful PR he's given camp, and the sweet words he had about me. Franklin, if you want more time to talk to me, I have a toll free number and love to talk about knitting more than anything!

I am pea green, I should have gone too, next year for sure! Thank you so much for posting the pictures, it's not as nice as actually being there but to be able to peek through your window was quite lovely.

I'm nearly speechless... what awesome gorgeousness!! I learned crocheting and tatting from my beloved and much-missed grandmother, and it's so cool that the tradition of creating beautiful and functional objects by hand is so alive and well.

And! I learn something new pretty much every time I read your blog - today I had to Wiki "Upanishads" but now I know! Thanks!

Two things. Mar, I remember Amy from the halcyon days, too. Ain't it amazing how things have changed? And not, Lord knows, for the better. And Franklin, on behalf of, well, me, thank you for not writing "See ewe next year" on the whiteboard.

Franklin, thanks so much for the great photos (especially Maureen through her lace) and the spot-on descriptions! You forgot to mention wrapping the bandanna around your head to keep your brain from exploding! Also the number of people who want "Friend of Dolores" t-shirts.

Note to Mary K. of Rockport: the garter stitch sweater is Sally Melville's "Favorite Summer Sweater" from her book The Knit Stitch. Thank you for asking!

Great description of Camp 2. I'm so glad you were there! And don't worry about someone's threat of intervention--as I told my sister just yesterday, as long as there's food in the fridge, there's no problem.

PS--I must agree with Amy--you should really be writing about how awful the weekend was. Really, truly, people--you don't want to go.

Copyright and Posting Notice

All original content of this blog, both words and images, is held in copyright by F. Habit. Use of any kind, in any medium, for any reason without express, prior written consent is prohibited.

Permission is not granted for the posting of any content from this site to Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, or any other Web site.

Please do not provide links to any product, service, organization or cause when leaving comments unless directly related to the topic of the post. Unsolicited advertising will be deleted and repeat offenders will be blocked.

When in doubt, please ask. I'm not mean, I'm just committed to preserving the quality of experience for my readers.